India suffer shock defeat at the hands of Ireland in T20I series opener
Belfast witnessed an absolute shocker as India went down against Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series. As India’s new T20I setup hit the road, they were jolted to a rude awakening as their batters failed to acclimatize to the conditions and collapsed.
Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first. Harshit Rana was back in the playing XI after recovering from his long-standing injury. The Indian bowlers got off to a great start, claiming the top four of the Irish innings early. Rana struck twice while Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube got a wicket apiece as India quickly sent Tim Tector (17), Ross Adair (12), Harry Tector (0) and Ben Calitz (15) back to the pavilion.
Wobbling at 51/4, the hosts were supported by their captain, Lorcan Tucker (50)and Gareth Delany (49), who added a significant 64-run stand to steady the Ireland ship. Rana struck again to break the partnership, claiming the crucial wicket of Tucker. However, Delany joined by George Dockrell (19) kept the momentum going.
At the end of their 20 overs, Ireland had posted 182/9. Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/24 while Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh claimed two wickets each. India needed a good start to chase down what looked like a formidable total.
Abhishek Sharma came out firing on all cylinders and did the lion’s share of the heavy lifting, smashing 50 off just 20 balls. Sharma hit seven fours and two sixes and looked like India’s best bet to get them across the finish line. Much to India’s woes, however, they lost a flurry of wickets early, which was too big a blow to recover from.
Sanju Samson (5), Ishan Kishan (1), Shreyas Iyer (3) fell in quick succession, complicating matters for Sharma. Abhishek’s aggression also buckled under pressure as Liam McCarthy ended his innings. Shivam Dube’s 14-ball-25 instilled hope in the Indian fans but it was brutally ended by Jai Moondra.
India were wrapped up for 148 with an over to spare, marking their first-ever defeat against Ireland in the shortest format of the game. India will return to action tomorrow for the last T20I of the series.
